伊朗日益分散的抵抗轴心

IRANS INCREASINGLYDECENTRALIZED AXIS OFRESISTANCENANCY EZZEDDINE AND HAMIDREZA AZIZIJULY 14,2022COMMENTARYAfter Irans allies lost ground in recent elections in Lebanon and Iraq,internationalobservers began asking whether Tehrans regional influence was slipping.On May 15,Lebanons votersdenied Hizballah and its allies the majority they had enjoyed over the past 15 years.A few months earlier,Irans closeallies in Iraq the Fateh alliance suffered a much larger blow as its opponents established a clear parliamentarymajority against it.Nonetheless,both Hizballah and Fatehs coalition secured a significantly larger number of votes thantheir opponents in absolute terms and still managed to steer post-election politics as they desired.These developmentscertainly reflect new challenges that Iran is facing.But they also portend a new,more decentralized approach to axismanagement that could help protect Iranian interests in the long run.Over the years,Iran has been agile in devising tactical responses to regional developments.It supported Iraqis when theywere threatened by the Islamic States onslaught in 2014 and managed to continue sponsoring Hamas despite the